The Pumpkin Ridge Passive House stands as a testament that sustainable design can be affordable. Held to some of the nation’s most stringent sustainability standards, this contemporary family home with traditional styling effortlessly combines comfort, efficiency and beauty.

Shear House, a single family house in Korea, seeks how a simple treatment in pitched roof typology improves environmental qualities and influences to program organization. The volume of gable on the West end changes its placement along with body of house. It projects out toward South at the East end, while maintaining its triangular shape. The sheared volume is continuously pulled out towards South responding to sun orientation. It creates a deep eave in South and a terrace in North. The eave blocks direct sunlight in summer and allow natural lighting in winter. Openings at terrace in second level increase natural ventilation throughout the whole house. In addition double skin-facade controls heat and humidity thus the house reduces 20% of heat gain and loss in summer and winter.

Chamfer House revisits a post and beam dwelling designed in 1977 by Kevin Borland, the Hildebrand House. It sits within an established garden on Oliver’s Hill, a crucible of late modernism overlooking Port Phillip Bay. Our clients approached us soon after moving in. They wanted to protect the timber ceilings, exposed Oregon structure and fingerjointed window frames they loved, while also updating the house to suit their young family.

This project addresses an excess of servitude derived from the demanding topography and strict regulations through a straightforward strategy: a compact, clean and tidy body overlooking the Atlantic’s rising face and enjoying a panoramic view of the Anaga Mountains to the west. It is a simple‐volume step section that tries to sit naturally on the terraced slope.

The challenge to create two different and independent dwelling units on the same site was fulfilled successfully because they follow the same design philosophy and are consolidated visually. Morphologically the houses are characterized by orthonormal, parallelepiped volumes, lined with wood panels which stand out from the primary white volume and reflect functionally the bedrooms. The exposed concrete elements come to add strength and simplicity in whole, functioning \”compensatory \” in the warm mood that the large wood surfaces give. The design course was determined by the dedication to the functionality, when at the same time many bioclimatic elements were included in order to achieve thermal comfort for the users.

In this bioclimatic nearly zero energy building (nZEB), we followed a minimalistic direction morphologically, in order to distinguish the actual architectural features without unnecessary decorations and exaggerations, following modernistic standards. The main idea is analyzed in the synthesis of three basic volumes, which are separated by their function and their material – white for the common spaces, wood for the private spaces and exposed concrete for the parking. The bioclimatic character of the building played equally important role, since the two main volumes are ‘open’ to the south and ‘turn their back’ to the north. In this context, the rotation of the ground floor white volume is included in order to be located exactly perpendicular to the south. Similarly, the volume of wood floor overhangs by 3 meters to the east, creating a shelter for the users, ideal for the evening hours. The environmental orientation of the house, is completed with the use of thermal insulated materials and active systems, such as a 3kW photovoltaic system.

Set on a verdant land parcel dotted with large mature trees, the Three Trees House house is nestled -much like a fork- between three large trees. The premise for choosing to situate the building amidst the trees was to preserve the existing trees while enjoying the natural setting in close proximity of the habitable areas. The house is conceived as an assembly of two fairly rectangular blocks, the east facing front block and west facing rear one. Both are connected by a narrow, transparent, staircase block. The largest tree of the three, a flowering Kachnar(bauhinia), becomes the centerpiece of the courtyard space. The shaded north facing courtyard is further animated with different rooms fronting onto it along with the large overhang canopies providing constant play of light and shade. As experienced from within the house, this space brings an enhanced sense of openness inside and also unfolds constantly changing views of the outdoors, as well as the building, as one moves around the house and vertically between different levels of the house.